


Razzle Dazzle

by vanillanemo



Category: Bleach
Genre: Chicago the Musical AU, Demisexual!Toushirou, F/M, Karin is both in love and a hopeless disaster, Language, Make-up Artist!Toushirou, Mentioned Minor Character Death (Masaki), Non-Explicit Masturbation, Rangiku is nothing if not an enabler, Theatre AU, Trans!Toushirou, actress!karin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-11 00:07:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15960482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillanemo/pseuds/vanillanemo
Summary: HitsuKarin Secret Santa 2017Theme - Razzle Dazzle





	Razzle Dazzle

***

“Razzle dazzle ‘em, razzle dazzle ‘em, razzle dazzle ‘em...”

“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. Roxie Hart finally takes the stand in her own defence.”

“And they’ll make you a star!”

Karin smiled to herself as her favourite part of the play came to a close. Her hair was done up in tight curls, stage make-up heavy on her face as she recited her lines, perfectly playing the part of Roxie Hart.

She’d been delighted to get the part, especially in a production run by the Gotei 13, which was _the_ production company in Japan. Opening night had been last night, and the show had been a hit.

Karin had always loved acting. It had started when she was little. She and her sister, Yuzu, would put on little kiddy performances for their parents and older brother, Ichigo, in the living room. And her mother had encouraged the hobby.

(Her father had too, but not in any productive manner. Isshin’s chosen method of support was loud wailing about how wonderful his daughters were.)

The twins joined theatre groups, took dance classes, and Karin even signed up for singing lessons when she was ten. Yuzu stopped coming by middle school - her interests leaned more towards cooking and sewing. Karin didn’t mind. Their shared bedroom ended up a messy collage of pinned up recipes and theatre posters. For one birthday, her parents had even bought Karin a poster from a Gotei 13 production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’, signed by the main cast. It held the place of honour over the head of her bed, and Karin promised herself that one day, she’d be a part of the Gotei 13.

She continued to develop her skills throughout middle school and high school, involving herself in as many productions as humanly possible. Her family attended every single one (often to her embarrassment - Goat Face could be _ever so slightly_ over the top) up until the summer after Ichi-nii graduated college.

There’d been a car crash, when their mother went to help him move out of the college dorms. Ichi-nii had escaped with a broken arm and a few other minor scrapes and bumps. Masaki had swerved the car so that the oncoming truck hit her instead.

Yuzu brought a small framed portrait of Masaki to every one of Karin’s shows after that. It wasn’t the same, but sometimes Karin looked out at the audience and swore she could see her mother sitting there, smiling at her.

Karin threw herself into theatre, determined to achieve her goal of getting into the top theatre company in Japan, for her mother’s sake. Masaki had always believed in her, and Karin was going to make her proud.

After months of hard work, balancing gruelling auditions and interviews with her high school finals, she’d gotten accepted into Shino Academy, a theatre college founded by the same man who had founded the Gotei 13, Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryusai. Meanwhile, Yuzu went to France, for one of the top culinary schools in the world.

(Isshin had bawled dramatically at the thought of losing his precious little girls, up until Karin punched him. Then he bawled dramatically at the thought that his precious little girls didn’t love him anymore. Both twins looked exasperatedly at each other and gave up.)

When her professor had mentioned that the Gotei 13 was going to be holding auditions for the musical ‘Chicago’, Karin had practically leapt out of her seat with joy. One of her most treasured memories was of watching the movie adaptation of Chicago at home with her family, when she was eleven. She’d been entranced by the dazzling costumes and the general ‘glitz and glamour’ of Velma and Roxie. She decided, then and there, that she was going to do anything and everything to be a part of that production - even if she was only a member of the ensemble.

She’d been so nervous during her audition, and she walked out of it quite certain that she’d screwed up entirely and stood no chance of getting in. It came as quite the surprise then, when three weeks later, she’d received a call from Kyoraku Shunsui, the head of the company, informing her she’d been selected for the part of Roxie.

Karin had immediately called her father (Yuzu would still be asleep and Ichi-nii was at work), crying with happiness, and quickly he was too.

The following months had been a whirlwind of rehearsals, and it all had led to here and now. She stood on stage, practically glowing under the lights and the exuberance she was feeling.

Sometimes it still felt like a dream.

The play finished, and Karin took her bows along with the rest of the cast and crew, her wide smile betraying her exhilaration. After the curtains closed, the cast were all hustled backstage by the costume teams. Karin hung back a little, despite her tiredness. But fairly quickly, Rangiku was gently manhandling her out of her costume and passing Karin her clothes. She dressed mechanically in the sweatpants and t-shirt, deciding to leave her jacket in her bag. Leaving the changing stall, she tried to slip out of the door without being noticed, but to no avail. It seemed he was waiting for her.

“Kurosaki.” She stopped dead in her tracks, barely suppressing a groan. Her hotel room had such a soft bed, and she really just wanted to go to sleep. But alas...

“Yes, Hitsugaya?” She said, turning around to look at him, the bane of her existence at this very moment.

“We discussed this, didn’t we? Sit.” He pointed at the make-up chair, and she sighed, walking over and slumping into it, tossing her bag under the bench where it would be out of the way.

“Don’t get all huffy with me,” he said. “You didn’t bother washing your make-up off last night, so now you’re stuck letting me do it before you go back to the hotel.”

“Is it really that big of a deal?” she whined, well aware that she sounded childish.

“Yes, it is. You know damn well how long it took us today, cleaning yesterday’s make-up off. Stage make-up is thick and heavy, it smudges and cakes on very easily, so if you just let me clean it off now, it’ll only take me ten minutes rather than the hour it took four of us earlier.” The short make-up artist was now pulling make-up wipes out of their packaging, and Karin dutifully sat still to let him clean her face off.

He was right, of course. She’d looked a mess that morning, and her attempts to remove the smeared stage make-up had only made it worse. Defeated, she’d just sent a message to the group chat requesting assistance from one of the professionals, quite the group of whom had shown up in her hotel room within ten minutes.

The reaction of the beauticians on the team to her face had been comical (Yumichika _actually_ fainted, and she was pretty sure she saw both Rukia and Kiyone wiping away tears). Hitsugaya had been the first person to snap out of the horrified shock that had overtaken them and start taking action to fix things, sternly lecturing her the whole time, and insisting that she stay behind after the show to let him remove her make-up, since she _obviously_ couldn’t be trusted to do it.

(Just because he was right, didn’t mean she had to like it.)

His hands were cool, almost uncomfortably so as he wiped the make-up from her cheeks. The alcohol in the wipes left a tingling sensation wherever they went. She moved at his direction, closing her eyes as ordered so he could remove the eyeshadow and liner. When he moved on, she opened them again and was struck by how close he was to her.

He wasn’t normally the person to do her make-up before shows, that was Kiyone-san, and she’d never really had much to do with him before. She’d never noticed how damn bright his eyes were, a vivid green colour that just entranced her. His brow was furrowed as he focused on his task, his lips curved into a frown that caused his forehead to wrinkle slightly. His white hair was moussed up into a few artful spikes, with a fringe that flopped down over his forehead. Karin was gripped by the sudden unexplainable urge to reach up and run her hands through it. _It just looks so soft..._

But then his hands were on her lips, and she forgot how to breathe.

An asteroid could have hit the Earth in that second and Karin wouldn’t have cared one bit - her senses captured only the man in front of her and no one else.

The moment was brief, over before it even really began, but it had been intense. Her heart pounded in her chest and her mouth was dry.

“Okay, we’re done,” he said, stepping back, and Karin blinked dumbly, looking up at him. He scowled. “Go on then. Get to bed.”

“Uh, right. Thanks, Hitsugaya,” she replied, her rational self just managing to push itself through the haze that her mind had become, all green eyes, white hair, and _cool hands on her lips -_

Karin stood up quickly, probably too quickly, but Hitsugaya had already turned around, discarding the used wipes and cleaning down the bench, so he didn’t notice. She grabbed her bag and fled back to her hotel room.

That night, her dreams were filled with green eyes, white hair, and cool hands on her lips. She woke up hot and flustered in the hour before dawn, thoughts of him running rampant in her mind.

How might those eyes look with arousal flashing in their depths? How might his hair look mussed and sweaty, her hands running through it as she pulls him to her lips? How might those hands feel on her skin, her breasts, her hips, and god, how would they feel _there_?

She came as the sun rose, her fingers working herself to the heights of pleasure as she thought of him.

(She might have said his name when she climaxed.)

(But no one need know that, right?)

(Besides, it’s not like it _means_ anything.)

***

Wake up, eat, check social media, hang out with fellow cast and crew (or interviews with the media, occasionally), prepare for show, perform show, _have make-up cleaned off_ , sleep, and repeat.

Karin quickly fell into a routine as their production run carried on. Their show was receiving excellent reviews, her and Momo’s performances in particular being largely praised. Her family had come to one show, and they’d been overjoyed with her performance (Isshin had bawled overdramatically, which earned him a punch from both his son and older daughter).

As the weeks wore on, she found herself thinking more and more about a certain white-haired make-up artist. His face, _that gorgeous face_ , filled her thoughts during every spare moment. She caught herself observing him before shows, while he worked. She noticed that he seemed quite impersonal and cold, though he did seem to know Momo quite well, the two of them chatting away while he prepared her for shows.

Karin realised that she was falling for him when, during a live TV interview, she was asked if she had a special someone in her life, and she _blushed_. She quickly stammered her way through a “No, I’m not dating anyone at the moment,” and shot Momo a grateful look when her co-star redirected the attention away, giving her a chance to get herself under control. The interviewers obviously also realised what was happening, and _bless_ them, didn’t bring it up again.

Her hopes that people wouldn’t have noticed were quickly dashed, however, when she was confronted about it that night during show prep.

“So... Karin-chan, what was all that today, hm?” Matsumoto Rangiku, costume assistant and unofficial Gotei 13 Chief of Gossip asked as she helped Karin get dressed.

Karin replied, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh come on, you were blushing red as a fire truck during that interview today. Does someone have a little crush?”

“No!” Karin knew the moment the word had left her mouth that she had spoken far too quickly to be believed, and she blushed.

“Oh my god. You _do_ have a crush! Come on, who is it? Spill it!” Rangiku practically squealed.

Karin was mortified. “Shut up, they’ll hear you!” But the conversation outside was loud, the usual cacophony of the hair, make-up and costume teams as they worked, and it seemed that Rangiku’s little outburst had gone unnoticed.

“I’ll be quiet about it, darling, but you have to tell me! I can’t possibly continue to live in such suspense.” Her voice was overly dramatic, and Karin was sure that she’d be pretending to swoon if her hands weren’t occupied with the fiddly clasps on her costume.

“It doesn’t even matter, anyway. There’s no way he likes me in return.”

“Karin-chan, honey, I know everyone on this crew, much better than you do.” Her voice was gentler now, more serious. “You’re possibly very much mistaken. Tell me who it is, and I’ll let you know if there’s any possibility.”

“I... promise you won’t tell?”

“I promise, honey.”

“Okay. It’s, um, well... It’s Hitsugaya.”

Rangiku’s hands stilled for a moment, before they resumed their work again. “Okay, and why do you think he doesn’t like you?”

Karin turned her head to give Rangiku an incredulous look and said, “Um, hello? He’s a make-up artist. There’s no way he’s not gay. And he doesn’t even like me, you know, as a friend or anything. He’s always so grumpy and cold and indifferent.”

Rangiku finished with the last clasp, before gripping Karin’s shoulders and spinning her around to face her. “Okay, first of all, the whole “He’s a make-up artist so he must be gay” thing is stereotyping, and offensive. Just because Yumichika’s gayer than a unicorn riding on a rainbow, doesn’t mean all male beauticians are.” Her voice was stern, and Karin flushed with shame.

“I’m sorry, you’re right.”

“It’s okay honey, just so long as you learn from this, move forward and not do that again. Now, secondly, I will tell you that while Tōshirō-kun is not straight, he _is_ attracted to women. I’m not going to go into more detail than that, so don’t ask me. And thirdly...” she paused, likely for dramatic effect, which was somewhat ruined by the sound of a crash in the background and Yumichika’s dramatic screeching. Rangiku sighed. “They’re all idiots out there, I swear. Thirdly, Tōshirō-kun thinks you’re cute.”

Karin gaped at her. “Wait, really?” Rangiku nodded, smiling softly. “What... but I... why?”

Rangiku shrugged and said, “Why not? He admires your passion and your fire, that pure stubbornness you bring to everything. Truth be told, he’s very stubborn too, I think the two of you would need some serious lessons on compromising if you were to make a relationship work. Like you said earlier, he’s grumpy and cold most of the time. But he’s always been like that with everyone, with the singular exception of his grandmother. He’s quite a closed off person in general. But he is most definitely into you.”

“I... um, wait - Rangiku-san, how do you know that?”

“He told me, duh. Tōshirō-kun and I go way back, I’ve known him since he was still in high school. We’re good friends, although he’s such a grumpy little thing that he’d never admit it. I noticed that he was acting a little weird, and I wheedled it out of him.”

Rangiku was now putting Karin’s microphone pack in place, zipping it into the little pocket sewn into her costume.

“He’s pretty shy about personal stuff, and closed off, like I said, so he probably won’t make the first move. But if you want my opinion, honey, I think you two would be a great couple. So, get your cute little butt out there, muster up some of that ‘lead actress confidence’ that I know you have, and ask the boy on a date!” Rangiku swept back the curtain, giving Karin no chance to reply without being overheard. With a gentle push on her back, Karin stepped out of the changing room, and wandered over to Kiyone, who ushered her into a seat and started on her stage make-up. Kiyone chattered away the whole time, but Karin wasn’t paying attention in the slightest, her thoughts entirely on the man a few feet away who she watched through the mirror.

***

That night, Karin messed up.

She tried, she really did _try_ to focus on the show, but her thoughts kept going back to _him_ , and what Rangiku had said about him.

Hitsugaya liked her back.

Karin had a chance.

She missed her cues three times, said the wrong line four times, and just straight up tripped over her own feet once. Luckily, Jinta had been close enough to catch her, and they managed to play it off fairly well. But the point was, Karin had given an incredibly poor performance.

After the curtains closed and the mics were off, Karin was met by Kyoraku Shunsui, the company director.

“Ah, Karin-chan. Once you’ve gotten out of your costume and everything, can you come and see me in the Green Room? I’d like a word with you,” he said, tone conversational and kind, but she still winced.

(Although that was only 1% because of Shunsui, and 99% because his niece was behind him glaring at her. Ise Nanao was terrifying, especially when someone did something to interfere with her perfectly running show.)

“Okay. I will,” she replied.

Once she was back in her casual clothes, her hair unpinned and her face clear (she didn’t squeak and stammer when Hitsugaya spoke to her, she _didn’t_ -), she met up with Shunsui. He was lying on the floor, a drink in his hand, and she accepted his casual offer to ‘grab a piece of floor’.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out. “I know was off tonight. It won’t happen again.”

He levelled her with a calculating gaze, but didn’t say anything for a long time. Karin resisted the urge to squirm, feeling much like a disobedient child in front of their favourite teacher, who they’d just disappointed.

“Alright then,” he said eventually. “I trust you to get yourself back on form. But if whatever this is continues to cause you trouble, I’d like you to come and tell me. I’d prefer not to have my lovely little Roxie struggling with something and refusing to get help with it. Understood?”

“Yes sir, Kyoraku-sama.”

“And how many times have I told you not to call me that?”

“By my count, Kyoraku-sama,” she said mischievously, “one hundred and seventeen.”

He sighed, though he was chuckling as well. “Off with you, brat. Get some rest. You’ve got that interview with Speaking Agent 007 tomorrow.”

“That was today. Maybe I should tell Nanao-san to cut you off from the booze.”

“She’s already tried. Many times. I always outsmart her.”

“Well maybe I should tell Retsu-san to cut you off.”

Karin stood, giggling, and Shunsui scowled at her. She fled before he had a chance to reply.

(She didn’t tell Retsu-san about his drinking. She wasn’t _that_ cruel.)

***

True to her promise, Karin managed to put Hitsugaya completely out of her mind during performances, and her one day of stuff-up was forgotten by all but the harshest of critics.

They wrapped up their Tokyo shows, and then it was a matter of loading a couple of hundred cast and crew into buses, ready to make the trip down to Nagoya for their next set of shows.

Halfway there, they stopped to refuel and give everyone a chance for a bathroom break. Rangiku quickly rallied the troops, asking for volunteers to come to the convenience store down the street and help reload on snacks. Nanao then insisted that if they were going shopping, someone had to go and buy coffees for the people who were driving the buses. Before she knew it, Karin was walking down the street towards the café, Hitsugaya at her side. Rangiku had winked as she sent them off together.

They exchanged vague small talk as they walked. Karin explained why she’d gotten into acting and Hitsugaya told her a bit about his life. As it turned out, he _did_ know Momo quite well - they’d grown up in the same foster home, and he’d first developed an interest in make-up by helping her get ready for dates when she was in high school.

“So, how did you and Rangiku-san meet?” Karin asked. “She mentioned to me that you guys have known each other for quite a while.”

“She’s my brother’s fiancée.”

“Really? I didn’t know she was engaged. She doesn’t wear a ring...” Karin trailed off at the conspiratorial look on Hitsugaya’s face.

“They’re not engaged _yet_. Nii-san’s got some time off work soon, he’s going to fly up to Kyoto when we’re performing there, take her out for dinner and propose then.”

“Oh wow, really?”

He nodded. “She doesn’t know that he’s coming, it’s going to be a surprise, so I need you to keep it a secret. But they’ve been together for nearly seven years now, and she’s been dropping hints for ages now, so she’ll definitely say yes.”

“That’s great! I’m so happy for her. And of course I’ll keep it a secret, don’t worry.”

They were only a few feet away from the coffee shop now, the cheery store front advertising all manner of delicious drinks.

Suddenly a young woman, about the same age as Karin, with long, glossy black hair bumped into Hitsugaya. The lid of her takeaway cup burst off, and his jacket was soaked with hot liquid.

“Oh my gosh! I am so, so sorry,” she said, but there was something slightly... off about her voice, in Karin’s opinion.

“It’s alright, accidents happen. Are you alright?” Hitsugaya asked, looking concerned.

“Of course, I’m absolutely fine, but you possibly can’t be! That coffee was hot, and it’s all over your jacket, and here, I have some napkins, let me help you out.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a few napkins with the coffee shop logo on them.

“Don’t worry, I’m okay.”

She stepped closer to him, reaching out with the napkins. Hitsugaya gently grabbed her wrist and pushed her away.

“Seriously, I’m fine. It’ll have pretty much soaked in by now, there’s not much point in trying to wipe it up.”

“Oh goodness, I couldn’t possibly leave without at least trying to help.”

And then it clicked. The reason this girl’s voice sounded off was that it sounded fake. Put on. She wasn’t genuinely sorry, she was just pretending to be. And not very well at that. _She spilt her coffee on purpose_ , Karin realised, narrowing her eyes at her. The girl continued to try clean the coffee off Hitsugaya’s jacket, ignoring his attempts at pushing her away, rambling apologies in a husky voice that was clearly dripping with innuendo, now that Karin knew what to listen for.

“Really, it’s fine, miss. Don’t worry about it,” he said.

“Oh, no, goodness it’s not fine! It must be really uncomfortable, and that jacket looks _so_ expensive, and I’ve ruined it!”

“I can get it dry-cleaned, it’s not a problem.”

“Oh gosh, you shouldn’t have to do that! What about if I give you my number, and I can take you out for dinner to make up for it? And I’ll pay for the dry cleaning, as well, since it’s my klutzy fault anyway.” She waved a hand around airily, smiling at Hitsugaya, who looked very much like a deer caught in the headlights. Karin decided to step in, moving so that she was slightly in between the girl and Hitsugaya.

“Excuse me, but we’re fine, thank you. You’ve apologised, that’s enough.”

“Oh piss off, you slut!” Karin recoiled slightly in shock, completely thrown off by how quickly her demeanour had changed, and the girl turned her attention back to Hitsugaya. “You really should come out to dinner with me, I’d be much more fun than this little bitchy girlfriend of yours. Just dump her and come with me, I’ll show you a real good time.”

Hitsugaya’s voice was cold with icy fury as he said, “I think you should leave me and my girlfriend alone. I have no interest in your idea of a ‘real good time’ if you think that insulting someone I care about is a good way to win my affections.” His hand came up to sit lightly on Karin’s shoulder, and he gently pushed, prompting her to step aside and allow him to face the girl entirely. She was shocked by just how hard his face was, how cold his eyes looked as he glared at the girl, and she quietly promised herself to never piss Hitsugaya off to this degree. She wasn’t sure she’d ever handle being on the receiving end of that expression.

(The fact that he’d called her his girlfriend wasn’t important. Her heart hadn’t stopped for a moment. Her mouth wasn’t dry. It didn’t matter.)

(Oh who was she kidding? It mattered.)

The girl seemed oblivious to the fury and dislike being directed to her as she made another attempt at convincing him. “You don’t realise just what you’re missing out on, my father is a CEO of Cifer Securities, he has dinners with people like Aizen Sousuke regularly. I can show you amazing things that this broke ass bitch could never afford.”

“My brother is one of the owners of a Las Noches child company, I can afford to take myself, thank you very much.” Karin tried very hard to not stare at Hitsugaya in shock. _His brother owned a company that was parented by the biggest company in Japan?_ Las Noches was a huge company, and a parent company to many other large and significant businesses. It was such a large contributor to the country’s economy that it had been noted by professional analysts and conspiracy theorists alike that Aizen Sousuke, the owner of Las Noches, could easily hold the government ransom by threatening to pull operations out of the country.

The girl had no such qualms about openly staring, before she quickly recovered. “Oh well, see, you and I are in the same social circles. Unlike this one here,” she sneered at Karin as she spoke, who glared in return. She was one of the lead actresses with the biggest production company in Japan! In theatre circles, Karin was an up and coming star, being praised by critics for her debut professional performance. She wasn’t exactly an A class celebrity, but the way this girl was looking at her, you’d think she was some criminal trying to rip her purse out of her hands! “You really should try and stick with people of your own _class_.”

“A class you won’t be a part of for much longer if you don’t back off. Cifer Securities, you said? I’ve met Ulquiorra-san a few times, he and I get along quite well. Well enough that I have his private number. I could have your father dismissed in about three minutes. All it would take is a quick phone call. Or, even better - nii-san did complain to me the other day that he was rather bored. I do wonder if he’d like to launch a fraud investigation into your family. He might find something, or he might not, but either way it would make your father look awfully shady. Would he ever get the same respect afterwards?” There was a dangerous edge to Hitsugaya’s voice, and the girl suddenly looked very nervous.

“I’m sorry for bothering you.” She turned and hastily left, Hitsugaya exhaling in relief as she was lost to the crowds of people on the streets.

“Let’s go and get these damn coffees,” he said, and Karin nodded. They entered the shop and quickly ordered. Karin checked her phone while Hitsugaya pulled his soiled jacket off, hanging it over his arm. She had a text from Nanao asking where they were, and she quickly typed out a reply, apologising and saying they were on their way.

Thankfully, the café wasn’t busy, so they only had a short wait until the drinks were ready, a wait they spent in awkward silence. They collected the coffees from the baristas and the two of them began the walk back to the fuel station where their friends would be waiting for them.

Hitsugaya was the first to break the silence that hung between them, heavy and stifling.

“Kurosaki? I’m sorry for what happened back there.”

“It wasn’t your fault, it was hers. I think she probably spilled her coffee on purpose.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. But that wasn’t exactly what I was referring to. I’m sorry that I referred to you as my girlfriend. I sort of hoped that she’d back off if she saw I was committed to a relationship, and since she’d already assumed you were my girlfriend, I went with it. Obviously, it didn’t work. But my reasons don’t matter, I still shouldn’t have done it. It was presumptuous of me and wrong. I’m sorry.”

Karin was taken aback that he was making such a big deal about it. (There wasn’t any pain in her chest. What heartbreak? There’s no heartbreak here.) “It’s fine, really. I understood pretty quick what you were trying to do, and I get it. I forgive you.” Then, in a leap of faith, she spoke again. “I wouldn’t mind if it was true, either.”

Hitsugaya stopped in his tracks, looking at her in surprise. She stopped next to him, and the words started falling from her lips before she could stop them.

“I mean, I really like you, and you’re really attractive, and you just kind of make my heart flutter when I’m with you, and _every single time_ you clean off my make-up I just want to grab you and kiss you and your eyes are so goddamn gorgeous and you’re not just some shallow, sports-obsessed dude, you’re intelligent and serious, and that’s really attractive, well at least to me, and dammit I’m rambling.” She cleared her throat, and looked at Hitsugaya. His eyes were wide, and his mouth had fallen open. “I’m sorry. I was thinking when I told you that I’d be cool about it, and that was the exact opposite. I didn’t mean to just word vomit all over you like that.”

“But... but did you mean it?” He asked, voice trembling slightly.

“Yes. I did.”

“Okay. I um... I like you too, but... I’m um, I’m transgender.”

Karin nodded, refusing to allow surprise to show on her face, not wanting to upset him. “Alright. I don’t have a problem with that,” she said.

“Really?” he asked, and she was shocked by the vulnerable look in his eyes.

“Yeah. I have a twin, Yuzu, who’s not cis. I’m not put off by it, or anything, if that’s worrying you.”

“Thanks. I um... I didn’t tell my last partner before we started dating, and he... he didn’t take it well when he found out. So I make sure I tell people now. I’m also demisexual, if that’s a problem.”

“I haven’t actually heard of that one before. What is it?”

“Um, so basically, I don’t experience sexual attraction until I get to know someone well. I’m interested in you in a romantic sense, but not a sexual one just yet.”

“Okay. I don’t mind.”

Hitsugaya nodded, clearly relieved. “So um, what do we do now?”

“Well,” Karin said, steeling herself, “I’d like to take you out to dinner tonight when we get to Nagoya. And then... maybe see where things go from there?”

He smiled softly, and Karin realised it was the first time she’d ever seen him do so. “That sounds great. Did you have anywhere in mind?”

“I’ve never actually been to Nagoya before. But I love street food and walks through parks. What about you?”

“I’m much the same. It’s a date.”

Suddenly, both their phones chimed at the same time, and Hitsugaya winced. “That’s Ise. We should get going.”

“How do you know it’s Nanao-san? You didn’t even look at it,” Karin asked as she fell into step next to him.

“I have a different ringtone for her, so I can prepare myself to get into trouble before I even get my phone out.”

Karin laughed. “Maybe I should do that too.”

“I think you should laugh more. It’s cute.”

She blushed. “You’re cute.”

“Well, you sure know how to flatter a guy, Kurosaki.”

“Karin. I don’t mind if you just call me Karin.”

He glanced at her, smiling again. “Only if you call me Tōshirō.”

She smiled back. “I think I can manage that.”

***

Minutes before show time, Karin stood backstage while crew bustled around her, making sure everything was ready. She could hear the crowd taking their seats beyond the curtains. Her microphone was set up, the small pack clipped into the pocket sewn into her costume, out of sight, but hadn’t been turned on yet. She graciously thanked every person who wished her luck as they walked past on whatever job they were doing, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

Yesterday had been wild. She and Tōshirō returned to the buses in short time and distributed the coffees. Then it had been back onto the buses and onto Nagoya. Karin had done a little internet searching, and had found a nice park only a short walk from their hotel.

Except, as they left the hotel together, Rangiku, who was hiding nearby, had snapped a picture of them holding hands. She’d shared the picture to the group chat, as well as sent it to Tōshirō’s older brother. He’d messaged Tōshirō with his approval, which led to them realising that despite wanting to just let things develop naturally, the cast and crew already knew and were voicing their approval for the relationship.

They’d met up in the morning and entered the breakfast hall together, and were met with applause and wolf-whistles, much to their embarrassment. They’d kissed to appease the masses, and been bombarded with well wishes and a couple of comments of ‘about time!’

“Thinking about something, Kurosaki?” She broke out of her thoughts to see him standing in front of her, a little shorter than her now that she wore heels. She felt her lips curl up into a smile.

“You.”

“Better get me out of your mind before show time. You don’t want to be messing up on stage because you’re distracted.”

“But how can I not be distracted when you’re so goddamn handsome?”

He snorted. “You’re ridiculously overdramatic.”

“I’m an actress, what do you expect?”

“Nothing less.”

She grinned at him, and he sighed, rolling his eyes, but he smiled back after. She counted it as a victory.

“Would it keep you less distracted if I give you a kiss before you go on?” he asked, stepping a little closer to her.

“Couldn’t hurt to try.”

Their lips met, soft against each other, his decidedly cool like they’d been last night when they kissed in the park. (And that morning. And at lunch time. And... well, there’d been a lot of kissing.) It was gentle and sweet, and she couldn’t get enough.

Nanao walked past, whispering, “I hate to break up the happy couple, but we’ve got one minute till mics go on, so wrap it up, you two.”

They broke apart reluctantly, breathing deeply. Tōshirō’s hand was laced through hers, and he gently rubbed his thumb over her skin.

“Razzle dazzle ‘em, Karin.”

“If I do, will you beg me for more?” she asked, tone playful.

He smirked and said, “Finish the show without messing up, Kurosaki, then we’ll see.” He let go of her hand, slipping back to the green room before she could reply. Karin watched him go, before pushing him out of her thoughts and preparing herself for the show.

(She messed up anyway.)

(He didn’t mind.)


End file.
